Flagstaff with the Chicago Gang

The last weekend that the Hoyt cousins were here we decided to rent a house in Flagstaff.

We ended up renting it for 4 night because that was the minimum stay. Which meant that we had the house starting Wednesday night. I did not want to just waste a night even though our kids had school on Thursday........plus it was just the first week of school how much can they be learning yet right. And on top of the Hunter had been missing the whole week anyway so I decide playing hookie was just what we needed!

Marla had other obligations on Wednesday so she couldn't leave then and of course Justin couldn't get away that soon.

Sooooo me being the CRAZY person that I am......decided to take my 4 kids plus 3 of Marla's with me in the Yukon and make the trip to Flagstaff! Yeap that's right me and 7 kids........CRAZY!

I checked Logan and Kiersten out of school a little early to get a head start on the long trip.

You will never believe it but I promise this is the absolute truth.........we only stopped ONCE yes you read that right....ONE time! Me and 7 kids for a 6 1/2 hour trip stopped ONCE!! We stopped in Anthem to eat dinner. The kids had traveled so good for me I found a Chick-a-fila for them and let them have a good hour of play time. We made it the rest of the way without a glitch.........it was amazing to say the least!

Marla made it up late Thursday night. Then Justin and Rieley made it up late afternoon on Friday. The main reason we went up there was to ride quads and dirtbikes at the Cinders, outside of Flagstaff. We didn't do that until Saturday and Troy made it up about mid-day Saturday.

These pictures are in no particular order so bare with me!

Mr. Grant grew impatient waiting for me to get him a yogurt so he found out he could get one himself. And he knows better then anyone that hands work better then a fork any day! Logie Bear riding at the Cinders...........he was a little bummed that we didn't get his quad fixed in time but he does good on the 80. Troy's friend Warren came up Saturday when we went to the Cinders. He is always so nice to give the kids rides...........he is a CRAZY driver and the kids LOVE IT!

Rieley taking Kiersten on a fun razor ride. The kids love the new razor!

See Rieley way up at the top?

That's where we found the Geocach.

Mr. Grant was very happy with his Geocach find............the kids picked out a yo-yo for him!

Carson actually did good this year and could ride the quad all on his own.

He just had a great time! He wasn't too fond of taking turns though!

Aubrey and Kiersten were so nice to let Mr. Grant tag along on one of their rides.

He was in heaven!

This is Rieley's new ride!

He won't be sixteen til November and he already has a jeep............spoiled!!

My dad found it and it was just what Troy and Rileley wanted. So my dad fixed it up and got it painted just in time for them to drive it back to Chicago.

Good luck!

Marla and Me

I just love my sister so much! I hate that she lives so far away. So anytime we get to see each other is just a treasure to me! We had so much fun in Flagstaff!

Love you Marla!

It was great to have Rieley here this summer working for Justin. He was such a hard working and we had so much fun with him here. Justin even had him come hoe my weeds, or trees, as Rieley called them, one day. Man was I excited about that..........so was Justin I think!

Garrett is such a fun boy!

All the little boys had fun pushing the trucks down the trailer ramp. Then the bigger boys started riding down in the dump trucks. They just had so much fun!

Justin and Hunter going on a ride together.

Hunter just treasures any time he gets to spend with his dad. I know Justin feels the same way about Hunter! It is so nice to have a family hobby that everyone enjoys and can participate in. Me, Hunter and Kiersten enjoyed a ride together. I just love spending time out riding with my kids! Mr. Grant thought he was coming with us and boy was he made when he found out otherwise!

Aubrey, Me, and Kiersten

Nothing like taking a girls ride!

Hunter and his dad

Hunter showing off his coolness!

I just love Aubrey. I am pretty sure Kiersten and I both wish she lived with us!

She has the funniest sense of humor and man does she do a awesome India Indian impersonation! So hilarious!

Such good cousins!

Logan and Nolan

Mr. Grant loves going for rides in the Razor. Kiersten was sweet enough to take him on a long ride! The kids all had a wonderful time out riding quads, dirt bikes and the razor. It was great weather most of the weekend. On Sunday when we were getting the quads and bikes all loaded up it had a complete down fall of hard rain. The kids just danced away on the trailer loving the rain. We decided to take cover in the Yukon after getting pretty wet ourselves. But we were meeting a realtor in Show Low so we had to get moving. We ended up soaked to the bone after loading everything up in the rain. It made quite the memory!!!

Hunter really wanted his turn for a "Rieley Ride" in the razor.

While I had all seven kids by myself I decided to take them to Peter Piper Pizza for some fun!

Mr. Grant really spent all his time on this little ride!

Kiersten, Aubrey, Logan and Carson

Hunter had a blast with the coin toss game..........as you can see!

There was a game where you used a claw to get a ball. Well Aubrey taught everyone how to do it, apparently it's not too hard because even the little boys could do it. This just made their day!

Yep.........still there! I bet he sat in this car for a good 45 minutes at least! As long as someone would put a coin in for him he was good. And he didn't get out to talk someone into doing that for him. I am pretty sure even strangers put coins in for him because they thought he was so cute. He LOVED it!

Yes more balls......

Hunter was the top ticket winner!

Look at my group of kids!

I got some funny looks with all seven kids! I felt like saying I am a foster mom or something........LOL!

Notice ALL the plastic balls the kids won. It was crazy getting all those to the car.......they would drop some every few steps. It was comical to say the least! The boys of course couldn't just play at the park the had to climb trees. These two wanted to show off their battle wounds.

Get your good glasses on and find Hunter?

Here's the clue.........he is somewhere in the tree.

When Hunter yelled, "Mom Look At ME!!"

And I turned and finally saw where he was I just had to hold my breathe. He didn't want to get down until I had taken a picture so I hurried over and took a picture. Then held my breathe the whole time he was climbing down. Boys just have no fear...........at least mine don't! I love how adventurous they are and boy was I happy when he was down safe!

These two girls were pretty adventurous as well. They talked me into letting them hang out on the roof. They actually read thier scriptures out there so I couldn't argue with that. Having Aubrey around has just been heaven for Kiersten. Even though they are 4 years apart, they have a blast together!

Pretty happy girls!

It was a great trip! We ate good food, went to the movies.....Justin was kind enough to take the little boys (minus Mr. Grant and Garrette....Rieley babysat them at the rental house) to see "The Smurf's." Justin even said it was good. While us girls all went to see "The Help." It was super good and made me cry.

The whole weekend was fun and we made some great memories!

I was just sad to see it end because that meant Marla and her family were headed back to Chicago. I always hate saying goodbye to them!

You'd Have Thought I'd Gave Them $1,000

Stacy Moore had her four boys take a little cake to Kiersten on her birthday.

They took it to her at dance class and sang to her and everything!

It just made her day!

And so we had this little cake sitting around.......

well Kendall Moore came over to play with Hunter on a Thursday (it's the start of our weekend...no school on Fridays at DPA, which I LOVE!).

These two boys begged and begged for me to let them put their faces in their cake pieces.

You should have seen the look on their faces when I said "SURE!"

The only rule was that they had to eat all of it......even the stuff on their faces, no wasting!

They couldn't believe it!

It wasn't a big deal to me but man was it a BIG DEAL to them!

It was like I helped them with one of their many dreams. In fact that's just what Hunter said, "Ah thanks mom, that has been a dream of mine for a long time!"

And so they had a blast and I enjoyed watching them and their excitement. Mr. Grant and Logan even copied them and now I wish I had taken a picture of them as well.

Afterwards they all ran around the house cheering, dancing and screaming about getting to stick their faces in cake!

Silly Boys.......glad I could help make dreams come true!!!

Hunter's Actual 1st Day of School

Hunter was very excited to FINALLY get to start school.......a week late!

Stacy Moore, one of my Best Friends, is his teacher and he couldn't be happier!

Hunter is such a sharp kid! It's going to be a great year in 3rd Grade!

I do not have a child in double digits!!!

Forgot I had these pictures so I am adding them late....sorry!

The pool was the perfect temperature....

Kiersten had a ball as you can see. We even played "Marco Polo" a few times........yes just the two of us! Thanks Kiersten for a FABULOUS weekend! I love you very much!

YIKES I do!!!

Kiersten turned 10.

Once our kids turn 10 we have decided that they can choose to either have a birthday party or get some money instead. This year Kiersten chose the money...........I'd have to say I was a little bummed because I LOVE PARTIES!

So to help with my sadness I decided to surprise Kiersten and have a girls weekend in Mesa.

Thanks to my mother-in-law and my mom who helped me with the boys on Friday, Kiersten and I were able to head to Mesa right after her piano lesson.

She was way excited! We ate at The Cheese Cake Factory, Red Lobster, Panda Express. We watched the Movie Glee the Concert, we swam at the hotel, we went and painted at As You Wish, and of course WE SHOPPED!! We actually had dessert at both Red Lobster and The Cheese Cake Factory...... YUMMY!!! Kiersten and I loved spending time together. She was so fun to hang out with. And she is the sweetest thing ever.......with some of her birthday money she bought something for each of her brothers. How sweet is that! She also was ecstatic to buy a gymnastic outfit and the cutest lime green, black and white dance wear, plus a new dance bag. Let's just say she was in heaven!! I love you Kiersten! Thanks for being the best daughter EVER! I love being your mom and I feel blessed beyond words to have you be mine for eternity!

10 Things I Treasure About Kiersten

1. She has a gorgeous smile with dimples!

2. She is very thoughtful to those around her!

3. She gives 110% at everything she does!

4. She LOVES to dance and I LOVE to watch her!

5. She is an example in kneeling to say her prayers. I often walk in on her kneeling at night saying her prayers!

6. She is very girly but she also loves to ride quads, fish, swim in the river, play laser tag. So I have the best of both worlds!

7. She is kind and considered to everyone!

8. She is a great example to her brothers!

9. She applies herself at everything she does........she just started gymnastics and already learned her back hand spring. Heidi, the gymnastics owner, said very few people have ever gotten it this fast!

10. She is helpful beyond words.........and she just radiates a love for life that is addicting!

I could go on and on....... You Rock Sister

Ditching school the first week?

Hunter started with a few sores on his right calf........which quickly spread!

This was about the 3rd day of him having the sores......sadly he had to tell me ..."Mom if they still hurt tomorrow will you take me to the doctor?" We took him to see Dr. Sue, it was a Thursday.............she wasn't quite sure what it was, possibilities....

a staff infection,

chicken pox,

some form of strep.

So she put him on a strong antibiotic and we bandaged him up. She took a culture of it and we were just waiting for the results. She said to bring him back if they got worse or if they spread more.

The redness in his calf started to ease a bit but the sores started to leak out fluid.........and yes they spread.....and so

On Saturday we returned to see Dr. Sue. They were now on his left arm and the back part of his right thigh. They hurt and they were super itchy. This time we saw not only Dr. Sue but Dr. Monthierth as well. Together they decided to put Hunter on another antibiotic, but he was still to take the first one as well, plus they gave him meds to help with the itching, plus a cream to apply. Basically they were trying to cover their bases because the results from the culture hadn't yet yielded any great information.

They were like little boils or blisters........poor Hunter!

We were also instructed to give him baths with Ivory dish soap several times a day. This kind of made up for the itching and pain..........Hunter was way excited once he saw how many bubbles it produced. And yes I helped Hunter strategically place these bubbles........LOL!

He always felt better after a bubble bath and a new bandage job.

This is his calf trying to heal.

So sad to watch him suffer and the doctors still weren't sure what it was. This is the back of his right thigh. It was the worse part..........it hurt him no matter what he did. When he would lay down it hurt, when he walked it hurt.........so on Monday I took him back to the doctor.

This time we saw Dr. Sue, Dr. Montierth, and waited extra long to get to see Dr. Kartchner.

They still were indecisive about what it was......

Dr. Kartchner was guessing chicken pox,

Dr. Sue was sure it wasn't chicken pox, thought it might be a staff infection,

Dr. Montierth hadn't a clue to guess he said.

At this point Hunter's leg was hot to the touch and getting more painful.

Poor guy ended up missing the whole first week of school.

My father-in-law told me to try putting Colloidal Silver on it.

By Tuesday morning Hunter wouldn't walk on his leg, he was in a lot of pain and I was getting super worried.

The doctors weren't calling with the results, the meds didn't seem to be healing it (at least not very fast) and I was stressed to say the least. And we had plans to leave the following day for Flagstaff to have a little fun with the Chicago gang!

I cried with Hunter that morning and told him how sorry I was that I didn't know how to help him!

I started applying the colloidal silver Tuesday and by the next day Hunter felt 100 times better. The sores were drying up but more importantly the pain, fever and itching were gone.

Thank you Grandpa Cluff!!!

It ended up being a type of bacterial infection called Bacillus.

It was a long 2 weeks of sores but I have to say Hunter was one tough cookie through it all!

Glad the meds started to finally work and with the colloidal silver Hunter healed up nicely.

It hurts just looking at it!

And to think we almost made it the whole summer without a doctor visit.........missed it by a few days!

First Day of School...........for some...

August 8th was the first day of school.

The kids were so so excited......except for Hunter he was seriously bummed.

He had sores all over his body and the doctors hadn't yet figured out what it was and so he couldn't go to school.

He was very sad to miss the first day of school.

Beautiful Kiersten, Poor Bandaged Hunter, and Ecstatic Logan Isn't she gorgeous! Glitter backpack and all........he is ready for the 5th Grade..... Mrs. Percell is her teacher this year. Logan just couldn't be happier to go to Kindergarten. He asked me on the first day if he could walk himself in to his class...........he is such a big boy. I told him not the first day because Mrs. Willis wanted all the parents to stay for a few minutes. So there is a story behind Logan's backpack and his Dinosaur shoes. My mother gave me a magazine and informed me that I NEEDED to get Logan his Dinosaur backpack AND that he NEEDED the light up Dinosaur shoes as well. She made me take the magazine home and then called me the next day to check to see if I had ordered it yet.........if I hadn't she was going to order them. It was so funny because my mom is not the type that cares what kids wear but she knew Logan NEEDED these............so to please Grandma and to surprise Logan I did just what my mom wanted. They both couldn't be happier! Logan has shown his backpack three weeks in a row for show and tell...........so I'd say it's a hit! Logan wanted to pose to show that his Dinosaur shoes are "Super Fast!"

My little sick boy....poor guy! He was a good sport about it and was excited because the Chicago cousins were still here visiting so he had friends to play with at least.

Outside of Discovery Plus Academy.........Logan still wanting to show off his Awesome backpack!

Man I just can't get over how beautiful Kiersten is!

It's going to be a great year.............plus all the neighborhood boys started Kindergarten too so life is going to be a lot calmer during the day with just Mr. Grant!

He needed one more picture of his backpack.

He LOVES school and he LOVES Mrs. Willis.

We are in the forth week of school and Logan is doing extremely well. They have a behaviour plan and each day Logan comes home with a colored dot on his hand. It's great because I know right when I picked him up how he behaved that day. I am so proud of Logan he has never gotten anything below BLUE.....which means he did FANTASTIC! The only thing higher then BLUE is PURPLE and it means they did something above and beyond just great behavior. PURPLE is HOORAY FOR YOU and they get to pick a toy from the treasure box. Logan has been very impressive because he has gotten HOORAY FOR YOU at least once a week and sometime twice or one week he got it 3 TIMES in a row. Mrs. Willis told me she doesn't give out PURPLE easily and said Logan does so much to be helpful in the class.

Way to go Logie Bear!!